Narcissism Nation

By Rachel Alexander, on August 26th, 2013

The advent of social media, combined with feel-good nonjudgmental instruction from the left, has turned us into a nation of relentless self-promoters, so many that it is becoming impossible to find talent among those who simply take photos of themself and pretend to be something they’re not.

We have become a nation of relentless self-promoters. Every day I check my email inbox and find it full of messages like “my media availability this week is…”, “I will be on TV or radio…”, “I am available for interviews,” or “my new book is available…” The onslaught of people promoting themselves makes it extraordinarily difficult for editors, funders and media to sift through potential talent, there is simply too much. Everyone wants to be a star, and the advent of YouTube and social media has made it appear to be readily attainable. The Internet’s democratization of access to publicity makes everyone feel like they are on the level of a celebrity; able to tweet their favorite stars, put up a website about themselves, and post photos of themselves on social media.

Many of these self-promoters don’t have real jobs, but live on welfare so they can spend all day long promoting themselves. Many have no real resume or accomplishments to speak of. Even some that make it onto television, like Octomom, can’t figure out how to make money from their embarrassing fame. These self-promoters brazenly ask others to help promote themselves – apparently blissfully unaware that publicizing themselves is costly and there is an entire industry of public relations firms that charge thousands of dollars for this service. Asking others for help promoting yourself has become the new norm.